Passive
by ninemelodies
Summary: In Axel's eyes, Roxas saw Sora. Axel truly did believe he was dead. He wasn't sure what hurt the most; that Axel was dying, or that he couldn't see that underneath the boy who reminded him of Roxas was Roxas.


Ever since Sora had returned, he'd been…different. He was still Sora, sure, but much quicker to anger, and much more confrontational than he had ever been. Roxas knew it was because of he had not willingly joined with Sora. He hadn't really wanted to go back to his somebody. He had gotten too used to being his own person, and he was unwilling to give that up just so Sora could live while Roxas vanished.

The worst thing was that everyone really did believe Roxas had permanently rejoined with Sora, and it just fueled the anger festering in Roxas's - Sora's - heart. Roxas wasn't gone. Roxas would never leave, not as long as the will to exist as his own person remained. Not only that, but he had a promise to keep. He had to come back, he had to see Axel again, in the next life, but with the pace that Sora was cutting down Organization members, the chances of fulfilling that promise were becoming slimmer and slimmer.

Right now, Sora was wondering around the remains of Hollow Bastion. He had just disobeyed the king, and had run off to fight the 1000 heartless swarming around in the ravine. Secretly, Roxas hoped that Sora would lose his heart again, just so he could be free again. Sora's heart was stifling and crowded.

Roxas wasn't really paying attention as Sora continued wandering, but he noticed it when Sora's focus drastically shifted. Now at full attention, Roxas peeked outside and caught a glimpse of black coat, followed shortly after by sandy blond hair. A cold taste formed in Roxas's mouth as his anger flared. He knew that coat, knew that hair. This was Demyx, a past friend, about to cut Sora down and destroy everything Roxas was hoping for.

Maybe it was his anger that caused Sora's temper to _finally_ boil over. Roxas could feel it when Sora snapped at Demyx. Roxas could also feel the cold emptiness that settled over Sora once the fight began. There would be no mercy here, Roxas knew that, and somewhere, in the recesses of his mind, he knew Sora and Demyx knew it too. This battle wouldn't be over until one of them was dead.

As he watched Demyx fade, Roxas could feel the anger in his heart drain away to be replaced by a kind of muted sadness, and when his anger faded, so too did Sora's. Roxas supposed that at least for now, he would let Sora have his emotions back.

Sora's reprieve didn't last near as long as Roxas thought it would. The next time Roxas's emotions affected Sora was in Betwixt and Between, the corridor - that really shouldn't exist – that connected Twilight Town and The Castle That Never Was.

Roxas didn't do much at first. Honestly, he really didn't care that Sora was surrounded by dusks. He knew that they would kill Sora, but Roxas had stopped caring. He continued to not care until he caught a flash of red and black in the corner of Sora's vision. Only one person in the Organization had hair as flashy as that. Axel. Axel was here.

It was then that Roxas began to care again. He could feel anger, joy, sadness, all of them, all at once, but for the time being, it was mostly joy. Finally, he would get to meet Axel in the next life, just like he had said he would.

When Axel looked right through him, and saw Sora instead of Roxas, Roxas could feel the joy shattering. For a brief moment, all he felt was sadness, but it was quickly with replaced with a lava like anger. Roxas was going to make Axel realize that he was here, shoved into a crevice in Sora's heart.

As Axel lay dying, having spent everything he had just to save Sora – and perhaps just to kill himself – Roxas could tell it hadn't worked. In Axel's eyes, Roxas saw Sora. Axel truly did believe he was dead. He wasn't sure what hurt the most; that Axel was dying, or that he couldn't see that underneath the boy who reminded him of Roxas was Roxas.

Roxas wanted to scream, to yell at Axel, slap him until he realized that Roxas was _right here_ and ready to talk, ready to be friends again, but maybe Axel's destiny was to die, and maybe Roxas's destiny was to be stuck in Sora's heart for all eternity.

Above the sadness that came from watching Axel die, Roxas could feel another emotion rising to the surface. Hatred. At Sora, at Xemnas, at the world for ending up this way. It wasn't fair, it never would be, he knew that, but the world had to cut him slack at some point. _It had to._

Roxas was going to stick around until it decided to do so.


End file.
